AIBU to ask if I could contest my mother’s will?

[impossibletocontest]

Is it always impossible to contest a will in England.
I’ve been told I will not be inheriting and that my brother will be the sole beneficiary. He has a good very well paid job as does his wife, own their own home and are comfortable. Dm has a large estate so he will inherit a large amount.

I live in HA accommodation, with one child (disabled and SEN) plus I have a physical disability which is progressive and I can only work PT so reliant on UC top ups and will probably end up totally reliant when health deteriorates further.

I know England is difficult with this issue is there any chance a court would look at the situation and see that it’s fair to award me something?

ive been told that I won’t even be able to get a caveat before probate as they won’t tell me immediately on the death of dm so the assets will already have been given ? They are very low contact with me so I think they’ll absolutely do this. Is there anything now I can do or do I have to just accept that I will always struggle and my brother gets everything. As a child I was my DM carer as she had alcohol and MH issues so I feel really really used and cast aside.
She is 84 now and in poor health and the only contact I get is her telling me how I won’t get anything from her .

For all of the usual suspects who turn up on every inheritance thread accusing people of being grabby and giving it 'their money their choice', please could you note the this thread has been moved to Legal. Several lawyers in this field have offered a legal opinion that OP potentially has a case, so that's who you're now arguing with.

You seem to think that a claim under the 1975 Act and contesting the will is the same thing. It’s not. The will can be contested on the basis that the person who made it did not have capacity to do so or was coerced or made a mistake. Under the 1975 Act, the argument is that the will, while valid, does not make sufficient provision for the claimant. Adult children can bring a claim and they do not need to show they were financially dependent on the deceased (that is a different category of claimant).

Yes, in England, even though OP was not in any way financially dependent on her mother. See the cases I have quoted.

It would seem any efforts to contest the will would be fruitless just because you think you “should” get something.
But you have nothing to lose the next time your mother says something spiteful to you than to respond with every detail of how you remember the past; much like you have here.
It may make her think and and make some changes
It may make her dig her heels in further.
But either way you will have had your say and got it off your chest
You really have nothing to lose.

To say yet again, given her circumstances OP may well have a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act.

your mothers will feels very unfair, and I’m sorry you’re going through this. However, unfairness is not a legal basis on which to challenge.
various ways to challenge a well eg an issue with the will itself (eg fraud), lack of capacity, coercion from your brother. Go and see a solicitor.

@impossibletocontest from personal experience in both cases where adult children have contested the wills of the parents they were no contact with, beneficiaries have settled with a lump sum out of court.

This. She may not have made a Will and if she has, it may not have been validly executed (some people have home-made Wills that are much easier to challenge).

Yes you can, my sibling did it after our father died and disinherited us both. Sibling used a no win no fee solicitor. My understanding is that the people who father had left his estate to opted to voluntarily give sibling a cut. I have to warn you, though, it wasn't much and the solicitor took a good chunk of it.

There may not even be a will, they are all pretty much estranged, I'd at least wait until she's dead.

She's still alive!

Btw we were both estranged from parent and had been for a long time

I'm not a lawyer or a psychiatrist, but this sounds like paranoid schizophrenia to me (based on seeing how it manifested in someone I know).

I know retrospective diagnosis is impossible, but to me the mother seems never to have been "of sound mind." Can her will be challenged on that basis? Anyone know?

Zero grounds. However, if I were you, I’d write her a letter explaining how she has been in your life, what your vs your brother, and see if she changes her mind. Explain how a little would make a huge difference. Maybe she will feel guilty and back track.

You can't contest it on the grounds that you're skint. You don't have a right to her money just because you don't have much.

I already stated earlier that this was based on the OPs mother having not been coerced into signing and was of sound mind when the will was made.

In an ideal world even if you have low contact with your Mum she would acknowledge her grandchild and treat her the same as the other Grandchildren.
Its a super tricky situation, I have siblings, one through choice has nothing to do with one of our parents, one sibling speaks to them a few times a year and 2 of us have regular contact.
As the people that have regular contact the responsibility for everything falls to us on anything they need help with.
They have discussed their will with us ahead of time, myself and my siblings won’t have anything if there is anything left to inherit, the entire estate is being left in equal shares to the Grandchildren, even the ones from the sibling that has no contact. It always seemed like a sensible way to do it where there are tricky family dynamics to stop arguments and to be honest I’d rather not have anything to do with either of my parents estates/any inheritance.
Unfortunately as others have said because you are not currently reliant on your mum financially, she is of sound mind and hopefully not being controlled. You have no reason to challenge the will.
Does your child have a relationship with their paternal family members who would help with support, time and money as she grows up if you’re struggling to work with your health?

But you don’t seem to understand that a claim under the 1975 Act is not contesting the will. And you are talking about children and financial dependency, which is relevant to the 1975 Act but you’re using the terminology in the same sentence as talking about contesting the will. And as someone legally qualified on this thread has told you, you do not need to be financially dependent on the parent to make a 1975 Act claim, as per the cited cases.

Howe was a complex case and my recollection is that the result relied at least in part on the fact that the child had been provided for in the original will but it had been made challenging to realise the benefit.

Courts have historically been less keen to provide for adults that have never been financially provided for in adulthood and where the deceased has been clear that they do not want to provide.

Beyond that, the description of the OPs physical and financial hardship doesn’t on the face of it suggest a compelling case for a claim.

That aside, making a claim is expensive and draining. I believe it’s pretty unusual for a NWNF arrangement for these sorts of cases - but perhaps if you have examples of solicitors that have done so you could provide the OP with that info?

A better use of energy and effort, IMO, would be to focus on whether the relationship can be rebuilt. Or whether the OP could appeal to any better nature that her mother might possess.

She isnt dead yet and its a will not an award. It doesnt really matter about fair.

Is it fair to exclude you from a will? Maybe not

Is it nice that this sounds like youre counting down the days of her life for a payout? Definitely not

I think it sounds terrible that shes still alive and you arent asking how you recover a relationship with her but how you get her money when she dies.

Even if this was a scenario where I sympathise youd struggle unless theres evidence your mother is coerced or made a new will whilst mentally impaired I.e. has dementia. It might not be fair but wills don't have to be fair.

Solicitors will definitely agree to do contentious probate on a CFA (my firm does) but it has to be a good case and the value of the estate has to be high to make it worth it (sounds like it is).

This is heartbreaking to read. @impossibletocontest I am so sorry you've been abused so badly by your mother and treated so cruelly by her & your brother. It isn't deserved and isn't fair.

In your shoes, I would 100% want to fight to secure a financial buffer for my child and I don't blame you at all for looking into it. It's very dispiriting to read from other replies that you're unlikely to be successful. I don't have any expertise in the area I'm afraid.

I agree with posters on two things though:

1 that you seek independent advice from a solicitor. If you can afford a one-off appointment then do, even if you have to save for a few months first.
If nothing else, you'll know you've properly explored your options and done your best by your child.

2 that when you do find out she's passed you do everything you can to check the Will. Check both that one exists, what it says and that it's been properly witnessed. Eg I do know that if its not properly witnessed then it's not valid and intestacy laws would apply.

When the time comes, if you can't see the Will yourself, it might be that a solicitor acting for you would be allowed to see it.

Also remember to check who the witnesses are, if any of them are beneficiaries like your brother then that would be grounds for a challenge.

No, Jenna Howe was not provided for at all in her father's will. His will described her as "lazy" and "druggy" as part of his reasons for excluding her. And there are other cases - Nahajec vs Fowle, Rochford vs Rochford, Higgins vs Morgan, Fennessy vs Turner and Isaacs vs Green spring to mind. The courts have become increasingly receptive to claims from adult children who can demonstrate a clear financial need.

There are plenty of lawyers around offering no win, no fee deals for Inheritance Act claims.

I agree it would be better if OP can persuade her mother to change her will, but if that is not possible she may well have a claim.

She’s still alive anyway 🤣🤣. You sound grabby and entitled. So what is your brother is doing better financially?! You don’t have any grounds to contest it from what you have written here

And you sound judgemental and unable to comprehend another person's difficulties.